Gokul Rajaram (@gokulr) / X

Gokul Rajaram

3,516 posts

Gokul Rajaram

@gokulr

investor (marathonmp.com) and builder (usetranscribe.io)

Silicon Valley

Joined January 2009

Pinned
Gokul Rajaram
@gokulr
May 11
TRANSCRIBE LAUNCH Excited to announce my first solo public product. Transcribe (link in comments) started as a personal tool I built because I had a very specific problem: there is an explosion of great podcasts and long-form videos, with more coming every day, and I don't have
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Gokul Rajaram
@gokulr
Apr 15, 2023
lol
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Gokul Rajaram
@gokulr
Sep 6, 2023
A successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs told me today that he had no health issues of any kind when he was in the supposedly high stress job of running a fast-growing tech company. Once he sold his company (for mid 9 figures USD) and stepped away from a full time operational
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Gokul Rajaram
@gokulr
Feb 17, 2021
Founders: One of the best startup hacks I've seen is hiring a smart generalist to own the numerous random yet critical projects that need an owner. From sourcing talent to creating customer decks to sending investor updates, they can be a massive accelerant to your business.
Gokul Rajaram
@gokulr
Apr 25, 2023
How to present In 2006, I helped @ericschmidt create a deck outlining Google’s strategy, for a presentation Eric was delivering to the company. It taught me a profound lesson on how to present. When I showed up to my first meeting with Eric, he asked me to visit with every
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Gokul Rajaram
@gokulr
Feb 19, 2019
Friend: “I know this guy who gets driven from Atherton to SF every day.” Me: “That’s not uncommon.” Friend: “He gets driven in a van, and the back of the van is set up with a @onepeloton and a TV, so he gets his workout in on his drive to SF. How common is that?” Me: ..
Gokul Rajaram
@gokulr
Apr 20, 2022
0. Startup CEOs: if you want to hire the leader for a particular function, follow this playbook.
Gokul Rajaram
@gokulr
Mar 21, 2023
Many founders who raised large amounts of money ($10m+) in 2020-21 but subsequently realized they don’t have PMF, are going through an excruciating psychological journey right now. On one hand, they feel beholden to employees and investors to keep building, pivoting, doing
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Gokul Rajaram
@gokulr
Jul 18, 2021
0. CEOs, CPOs and VPEs: The core product team has traditionally been a triad: Engineer, Designer, PM. Consider changing this to a quartet by adding Analyst. Product analysts can transform product development. Some ways in which they do this:
Gokul Rajaram
@gokulr
Mar 29, 2025
SF on Saturday morning: a large % of Waymos are ferrying solo kids (8-14 yo), presumably to sports or other activities. A friend told me that 85% of parents at their kids’ SF school use Waymo for kids pickup / drop off: earlier it was ~10% using Uber and Lyft. Shows how Waymo
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Gokul Rajaram
@gokulr
Apr 10, 2021
$1m ARR co. Tried to raise bridge round at $30m cap. Little interest. Changed “bridge” to “pre Series A”, raised cap to $60m, waited a month to ensure metrics still strong, went to raise again. Oversubscribed 2x. Never underestimate the importance of narrative and confidence.
Gokul Rajaram
@gokulr
May 6, 2022
1. I have been trying to find the best "first question" to ask a startup when I meet with them. After many iterations, I think I have it. Here it is, and here's why it works.
Gokul Rajaram
@gokulr
Dec 19, 2022
Hearing from CPO candidates in the market: many Series B/C companies haven’t yet found PMF despite having raised tens of millions of $. The CEO believes the CPO will help them find PMF. Finding PMF for a company is a a cofounder role (with appropriate equity), not a CPO role!
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Gokul Rajaram
@gokulr
Jul 21, 2023
DON’T BE JUMPY Got this message from a CEO about a candidate: “I don't think they'd be a good fit. We have a pretty hard rule on no jumpy folks and their background looks like a alot of 1.5 years and then gone”. Current and future job seekers: don’t be jumpy. Accomplish
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